in just days casey anthony will walk free from jail. we're watching to see what happens. thanks to all my guests tonight. now here's anderson with "ac 360." we're live from the kennedy space center tonight. tomorrow morning weather permitting space shuttle "atlantis" will lift off, the final flight in america's shuttle program. we say weather permitting because they've had a stormy few days here. lightning struck twice near the pad today. no damage done. even though tomorrow's forecast calls for more of the same there's a chance that skies may clear up just by launch time, 11:26 a.m. to light the candle. we'll have more on the mission later tonight. we begin with breaking news from just up the road in orlando where casey anthony learned today she'll be a free woman this time next week. new insight tonight into how jurors reached their verdict. the sequence of events inside the jury room and how their positions evolved during deliberations toward an acquit 258 on all serious charges. it comes tonight from juror number 2 who so far has declined to be identified. "the sainlt petersburg times"

reporting the jury first disposed of the lying to investigators. then they turned to first degree murder. the charge that casey deliberately murdered her daughter caylee. the initial vote was 10-2 against. juror 2 telling the paper "we didn't know how she died. technically we didn't even know where she died." he told "the times" about aggravated manslaughter believing casey was guilty of culpable negligence. initially he said five others agreed. he tells the paper the vote that on tuesday was 6-6 on manslaughter. he says the two sides hardened and arguing until the jury foreman calmed them down. he says no one believed anything casey's father george said on the stand. but more crucially, juror number 2 says none of the jurors believed the state established whether the grandparents or casey was, in fact, the child's caretaker when she died. in other words, if it was murder who did it. and if it was manslaughter, who was negligent in not reporting for 31 days after caylee was last seen. the paper reports that juror

number 2 believed casey should still have been held accountable. he says he was the final holdout but ultimately he agreed to vote not guilty. new revelations too about defense attorney cheney mason seen here kind of flipping off photographers on tuesday while celebrating the verdict at a restaurant across from the courthouse. also that day you'll remember he had some pretty choice words for the media and legal commentators. >> i hope that this is a lesson to those of you having indulged in media assassination for three years, bias and prejudice and incompetent talking heads saying what would be and how to be. i'm disgusted by some of the lawyers that have done this. and i can tell you that my colleagues from coast to coast and border to border have condemned this whole process of lawyers getting on television and talking about cases that they don't know a damn thing about and don't have the experience to back up their words or the law to do it. now you've learned a lesson.

>> well, keeping them honest, though, on those talking heads, mr. mason seems to hold in such low regard he once was one of them in this very case before, and he got is wrong. >> it could have been an accidental death like we talked before and an improper disposal. it could have been an outright brutal homicide. we don't know. has no credibility whatsoever. >> if it all plays out as many expect -- >> you can pretty well predict that there's going to be a life sentence. >> "in session" correspondent jean casarez spoke with cheney mason today. she joins us now. jean, the next big question seems to be when casey is released, where is she going to go? did mason give any kind of hint about that? >> he said plans are being made. he would not tell me what they are. but he is concerned for her safety, they all are. they do realize the public opinion in this nation deems casey anthony may be one of the most hated women in america right now. so they are taking security precautions for her safety.

>> yeah. i want to play some of what he said about their fears for her safety. let's listen. >> sure. yeah. everybody around her knows we have to be concerned for her safety. there's a lot of nuts out there that don't believe in the constitution of the united states, don't believe in the jury system. and all you have to do is go downstairs on the sidewalk and you'll see. >> he wouldn't say, though, what precautions they're taking to ensure her safety, right? >> no. he wouldn't even tell me where she's going to go. he does not think she can live in orlando, florida, or even the state of florida and wonders where in the united states she can become anonymous and just sort of blend into the society. i think that is the critical issue right there. he had mentioned possibly that she could go to his house with he and his wife. now he says that probably is not the likely scenario. but even if it was, he said he would not tell. >> jean, one of the headlines that came out of this is that casey is not going to have to report to her probation officer for the next year once she's

released. >> everybody has been saying casey's going to be on probation for the next year. casey will not be on probation for the next year. the check fraud case that she pleaded guilty to a year ago in january, that had a year probation. that was served from january 2010 to this january. so that is done. she will be a free woman next wednesday. and the reason it will be only six days is because of good time and gain time. gain time is actually time that someone who has been in protective custody 23 hours a day, they get even more time allotted for when they can get out. so that is helping her. otherwise it would be about a year from now. >> you also asked mason how he believed that caylee anthony died. i just want to play that exchange. >> how did caylee anthony die? >> i know nothing different than what has been presented is she drowned in the pool. and there's never been anything different than that. >> do you believe that?

>> yes, i believe it. yeah. i have no reason to think otherwise. >> you say he left a little wiggle room in his response. how so? >> well, he said that's what i have heard. so i thought that was a little vacillating, but yet he holds firm that that is what happened. i asked him, though, the american people want answers. they want to know. and he told me he doesn't think the answers will ever come to the people of this country. >> jean casarez, appreciate it. as we said at the top, casey anthony will go free next wednesday. that was by no means clear when she appeared in court this morning, though. convicted of four counts of lying to investigators. nor was it clear what kind of crowds would gather outside the courthouse. tonight we know both those things as well as some of the new financial liabilities that anthony could be facing. martin savidge has more on that and the sentencing hearing today. >> reporter: it was a very different-looking casey anthony who faced judge belvin perry for sentencing. letting her hair down for the first time since the trial began.

talking and smiling. and there was a rare bit of humor as judge perry asked her attorneys if they still wanted to pursue that mistrial issue, something made pointless by tuesday's dramatic verdict clearing anthony of the charges that she abused and killed her 2-year-old daughter caylee. >> you had asked me to reserve ruling on your motion for mistrial. >> we withdraw that, your honor. >> okay, that takes care of that >> reporter: then it was down to the business of sentencing anthony for her four misdemeanor convictions of lying to police. her attorneys argued they should be reduced to just one citing double jeopardy. >> your honor, before sentencing we respectfully request the court address the violation of double jeopardy at issue with respect to counts five, six and seven because all four statements in the indictment arose during the july 16th interview between detective melich and miss anthony, all four counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer were one continuous criminal act with a single intent.

as such, each false statement separately charged violates double jeopardy and must be reduced to one conviction based on one occurrence and course of conduct. >> reporter: but judge perry disagreed saying innocent's lies sent authorities on four different wild goose chases. >> as a result of those four separate and distinct lies, law enforcement expended a great deal of time, energy, and manpower looking for young caylee marie anthony. >> reporter: and then came the judgment. >> i will sentence you to one year in the orange county jail imposing a $1,000 fine on each count, all four counts to run

consecutive to each other, giving you credit for the time that you have previously served. >> reporter: realizing she wasn't going free today, the smile was gone from casey's face. and it would take the court the rest of the morning to do the complicated math of time served and good behavior to come up with a release date. >> and at this time, her release date has been calculated as july 13th, 2011. >> reporter: outside the courthouse, police were prepared for any possible reaction. beefing up security with deputies on horseback and a helicopter overhead. the crowds may have been smaller than expected, but they reflected the huge debate that has raged on air and online since tuesday's verdict. >> caylee. caylee. caylee. >> boycott. nothing. >> buy no books. no movies. >> reporter: anthony's legal troubles are far from over. the state of florida has filed a motion to bill her for what it calls special investigation and prosecution costs.

a woman who says anthony falsely identified her as the nanny who kidnapped caylee has filed a lawsuit. and the rescue group, texas equisearch says it's considering suing anthony for the more than $100,000 the group says it spent looking for caylee. all seem to be eyeing the money many expect anthony could make from her new-found fame once she is free, which by the way will be almost exactly three years since caylee was reported 7 are a missing, july 15, 2008 by her frantic grandmother. >> 911. what's your emergency? >> i found out my granddaughter has been taken. she has been missing for a month. her mother finally admitted that she's been missing. >> reporter: the call that started it all. >> martin, the judge in the case heard a controversial motion to unseal the names of the jurors involved. what do you know about it? >> reporter: well, you know, this is a debate that came up as a result of the news media. and it was triggered as a result of the fact that the jury immediately after the trial

declined to talk. now, that's their right. they don't have to. but of course, so much focus on the jury wanting to know. how did you come up with the decision, the verdict that you did. so the news organizations asked for the names. the judge is not comfortable because he says, look, there's been so much attention and so much anger. he's worried about their own safety. so here's what he said, i'll give it a cooling off period. so we may get the names in a week or so. that remains to be seen, anderson. >> all right, martin, thanks again. two jurors have spoken out. one wants to remain anonymous but juror number 3, jennifer ford is speaking out on camera telling abc news why she voted to acquit. >> how did she die? if you're going to charge someone with murder, don't you have to know how they killed someone or why they might have killed someone or have something where, when, why, how? those are important questions. they were not answered. >> joining us now, marcia clark, former los angeles deputy district attorney, o.j. simpson prosecutor and author of the novel "guilt by association" and

also casey anthony's former defense attorney andrea lyon. do you have to know how somebody died and what the motive was in order to find them guilty? >> no, you don't, anderson. the prosecution is required to prove all the elements of the crime. that is all they're required to prove. a motive is not an element of any crime. you are not required to prove motive. and neither are you required to prove cause of death. as a matter of fact, there's many times when we have cases, homicides, that have no body. i had a few of them myself. and i had a jury return guilty verdicts on all of them. and one of them, a first degree murder conviction. when you have a no body case you don't have a cause of death. you don't have a murder weapon. you have none of those things. yet the juries were able to convict. so what she is saying basically is that she wants the prosecution to answer every single question that she can raise in her mind. there's no possible way that any prosecution can do that. and it sounds to me more like an excuse to vote not guilty. >> well, you heard that also from an alternative juror, andrea. do you think that makes sense

that they felt that the state didn't show -- because the state didn't show necessarily motive or in their opinion didn't show an absolute cause of death, that that was reason to find her not guilty? >> that's not what the jurors said. i mean, what they said was that it was as likely that this was an accident and a cover-up as it was a murder. and if that was the case, then at means that there is reasonable doubt. so this isn't like somebody saying, you know, maybe martians captured her or some other crazy scenario. s they're saying that the evidence in front of them is at least in equipoise as to whether or not this was a homicide at all. if that's the case, you cannot convict somebody when you don't know if there's a crime. the fact that people naturally want to know why someone does something -- and generally speaking, i have to disagree with my colleague ms. clark -- most of the time the why is kind of apparent because of some former enmity or a robbery or whatever the motivation might

be, is a natural human thing. but the jury's instructed that they do not have to -- prosecution doesn't have to prove motive. but they do have to prove murder. and they didn't do that in this case. and that's what the jurors were saying. >> marcia, the judge ordered the sentences for the misdemeanors to be served consecutively, not concurrently. even so she's still going to get out next week. do you think the judge was trying to send a message today basically doing what he could to give her the maximum penalty? >> i don't think it was a message so much as he's sentencing her appropriately given the conduct. what she did in lying to the police for as long as she did and what she said really prevented the police from locating the body for quite some time. and it had a very serious impact on the case. and having -- he acknowledged the serious impact that these lies had. they sent the police off on a wild goose chase in many different directions and it obstructed justice, and he sentenced her accordingly. i don't think this judge particularly bends to public opinion or anybody else's. he doesn't dance to anybody else's drummer.

he really does his own thing. he's a wonderful judge. he's been so impressive throughout these proceedings. i think this is the one beacon of light that i've seen lately in a trial. it's very impressive. >> and, andrea, you think that casey, there's no reason to keep her -- >> i don't agree. >> that she should have been released today. >> well, i do. and this is one of the things as a defense lawyer that we call. and i don't mean to sound flip. the jury tax. if you go to trial and you lose, you end up with a bigger sentence than maybe you would have if you pled and had been compliant. that's sort of normal in the criminal justice system. but if this were someone else and this would have been a concurrent sentence, it might not have even been jail time. it's who she is and the fact that she was acquitted. and i have to take issue with ms. clark again regarding judge perry. as far as i can tell -- and i don't mean that he's an unkind person or rude or anything like

that -- what i mean is as far as i could tell, he granted every single request of the prosecution. he let every piece of evidence they wanted, no matter the sniffer machine, everything. he stopped cross-examination on bias. he pretty much did everything the prosecution wanted. as far as i can tell, he granted one objection of the defense in the entire trial. so i would say -- >> that doesn't mean -- >> i would say that at least from just from the calls alone, that it appeared that he was pro-prosecution. now, that doesn't make him unusual. most judges are pro-prosecution and do tend to vote with the prosecutors anyway. i mean, that's not unusual. >> marcia, i see you shaking your head, marcia. >> no, no. yeah, i'm shaking my head. she's not right. you can't go in and count the rulings and say, oh, the prosecution won nine out of ten rulings and, therefore, he's pro-prosecution. if the rulings fairly under the

evidence go to the prosecution, then that's the way he should rule. that doesn't mean he's biased. it just means that the prosecution is making good motions, motions that are based on the evidence and that are appropriate. when it comes to letting in evidence, he let in evidence on both sides that was what we'd call a little bit more fringy than maybe some other judges might have let in in an effort to let the jury see both sides of the coin and see as much evidence as possible. and i really disagree with the attitude that counts these motions. oh, the prosecution won this many. the defense won that many. this is not a horse race and it's not a baseball game. >> we've got to leave it there. andrea lion, appreciate it. marcia clark as well. let us know what you think. of course, we're on facebook and you can follow me on twitter @anderson cooper. tonight the hatred being directed towards casey anthony outside the courthouse and online. we'll also be joined by the attorney for casey anthony's parent, george and cindy, who were in the courtroom today and on tuesday, of course, for the verdict. a prosecutor saying cindy anthony could be facing perjury charges for her testimony.

later both sides may still be far apart on a deal to let the government pay off its bills. but washington insiders say all sides expect a budget deal. but if that's the case why did they wait until the very end to get there? we have the raw politics and what's going on in d.c. ♪ ♪ you are my sunshine ♪ my only sunshine ♪ you makes me happy ♪ when skies are grey ♪ you'll never know, dear ♪ how much i love you ♪ please don't take my sunshine away ♪ [ male announcer ] as long as there are babies,

they'll be chevy's to bring them home. ♪ with new extra-strength bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles, enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief to the site of pain. it's clinically proven to relieve pain twice as fast.

okay, we are waiting on that. i'll keep chatting with you until we get word on what's happening because right now, we are waiting on that traditional meeting. this is where nasa managers decide whether or not to proceed with fueling the tank ahead of that launch. the fueling is scheduled to start 2 a.m. eastern time. it is 1:20 in the morning. it gives you an idea how far we are away from it and the scheduled launch, 11:26 a.m. if all goes well, we don't know yet, and that's what we're waiting to hear from that nasa official and according to the website, launch preparations for "atlantis" continued on schedule thursday despite bad weather near the launchpad and has been bad as engineers prepared to

move "atlantis" away from a supporting structure, a severe thunderstorm delivered rain and two strikes near the launchpad. a nasa official says it occurred shortly after noon and first struck a water tower meters from the pad. the second near a beach area and went to ivan cabrera in our international weather center. get an idea as we wait to hear whether this does proceed or not. what's your gut feeling, ivan? >> i wouldn't be shocked if they scrub i had it enmoved it into saturday. that will be a better window for themsaturday and sunday. got the shuttle upside down for a reason. this was taken recently and you see the reflection of "atlantis" on 39a and the reason, of course, because of all the heavy rain that's been falling.

an area of low pressure that moved our chance of go to 30%. that's all we have. 70% chance of a no go because of weather. because of the thunderstorm activity that has been rolling through the kennedy space center. there are lightning strikes coming close. one hitting the water tower, if we have the video to show that because, again, this happens, of course, in florida all the time here. i have been present when we have scrubbed shuttles because of lightning in and around the kennedy space center. this is summer. we have those storms that bubble up but the problem is this time around we have that and this low that has been enhancing the shower and thunderstorm activity around cape canaveral so have had inclement weather in and around the shuttle. now, there is a window, we're not saying 100% no go here, right so there is a chance that they could get off here but it's

a problem, as far as the weather, when you have the rain even still at this hour of the night moving on in. we'll have more of that as we head through the day on friday here and 15:26 is the scheduled launch. the window is only ten minutes so they'll have to decide that quickly. the other launch window saturday, not looking good heading into saturday and then sunday, the chances not fantastic here, but going the other way, right, looking better as far as the weather as that low begins to move out to the north so i think our chances are going to be improved saturday and into sunday. but as far as what they decide to do, that's going to be up to them. we'll be talking much more about the space shuttle, the forecast and also some unsettled weather that's going to be affected our good friends in the western pacific here, another tropical disturbance there beginning to take shape.

rosemary. >> we'll wait and hear what's ahead for that part of the world, thanks ivan cabrera at the international weather center. for our viewers in the united states, we will send you back to "ac 360" in progress while we wait to hear what is likely to happen with shuttle "atlantis," whether it will launch or whether it won't. do stay with us. we'll have more after this. when i say fantastic, i mean just the amount of information going on. it wasn't good or bad. my clients will comment on that when they're ready. but there's so much that happened this week that they're just soaking it all in and trying to figure out where they go from here. >> you know, every day i know george anthony, your client, had a picture of caylee on a badge that was on a notebook that he carried and he looked at throughout the trial. we're learning now that we're hearing from jurors that they really didn't buy george anthony's testimony a lot of times. one of the jurors saying she

found him to be "dishonest." any reaction from him on that? were you surprised by it? >> i'm surprised by it. and obviously i'm an insider and i know my clients better than most. but he's been nothing but honest and forthcoming in everything that he's done. a lot of the things that jurors may have seen, obviously they don't know the back story as to why he may appear to be angry or have a problem coming together with what he wants to say because he knows that he can't take his anger out on the attorney for the comments that he made in opening, and he was just there to answer the questions. but there's just so much emotion there that it was hard for him to keep it contained. >> do you expect cindy anthony, who is also your client might be charged with perjury about her testimony on the searches on the family computer? >> that question has been going around for weeks since she's

testified. we're ready. if the state wants to do anything, certainly they have a right to do whatever they deem is something that they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt. i hope and pray they wouldn't take that and go forward with that. but certainly they can. but my client still maintains that she did those searches for chlorophyll and by virtue of that search she searched chloroform. and because of those searches everybody thinks that somehow she perjured herself because it wasn't found on the 17th or the 21st. >> there's a lot of questions i'd like to ask you that i know basically i can't because you can't answer them because of attorney/client privilege. i'm not even going to waste your time trying to get you to answer them. >> sure. >> but all along you have said that your clients, george and cindy, want justice for caylee. they want to know what happened. do they feel they have gotten justice for caylee? >> well, i can answer the question about do they know what happened. no, nobody has any answers out of this case other than that a group of casey's peers have found her not guilty.

but we still don't know what happened to caylee. hopefully one day maybe that truth will come out. but at this point, there's more questions than answers. other than that they know that this chapter of their lives has ended and they won't have to face another trial. >> i'm also amazed, they haven't had direct contact with casey in how long? like two years? >> since 2008 actually. >> so are they hoping to see her? are you trying to arrange that with her attorneys? what's the next step in terms of the family? >> well, your previous segment was about the security. so i can't necessarily go into what everybody would like to see happen or do because of attorney/client privilege and for security reasons. but if they decide they're going to talk about it, i'm sure everybody will. >> okay. mark lippman, listen, i appreciate your time. i know you've been busy. appreciate you talking to us tonight. thanks. >> thanks very much. we've got some breaking

news. breaking news tonight. authorities have recalculated casey anthony's release date. we are just now learning. they have tentatively moved it back to sunday, the 17th of this month. previously it was supposed to be next wednesday. now it's going to be sunday the 17th. coming up, another lawsuit could be coming casey anthony's way. the head of the firm that helped with the search for caylee says he wants his money back. i'll speak with him next. and jaycee dugard speaks about her ordeal. abducted at age 11, held captive for 18 years. for the first time hear jaycee talk about what it was like to be 14 years old giving birth to a child fathered by her kidnapper. that's coming up. also the debt talk in d.c. make sure your alignments good. your brakes are good. you've got all sorts different things that you check off. your fluid levels. pretty much everything you could need. it gets done. it gets done quickly. and it gets done correctly. the works fuel saver package, just $29.95 or less after rebate. only at your ford dealer. you're a doctor. you're a car doctor. maybe a car doctor.

right now, go to priceline for a sneak peek at recent winning and better than ever! hotel bids to find where you n save up to 60% on hotels. * we'll even email you other people's winning bids, so you'll know what price to name. *á with new hotel bid alerts, from priceline.

news about casey anthony's release from jail.

the orange county corrections department has recalculated her release date. now it says she'll be out on july 17th. that is 10 days from now. at the top of the program before the breaking news, before we learned it, we thought it would be six days from now on next wednesday. still the legal wrangling in the case far from over. the state of florida wants anthony to pay back the costs of investigating her case. a motion for a hearing was filed just today. then there's the defamation suit from zenaida gonzalez who says her reputation was ruined when casey said that was her fictional nanny's name. and the head of a firm called texas equusearch that helped look for caylee anthony said he might sue as well to get back the money devoted to her case the search. tim miller says his company spent more than $100,000 looking for caylee when she was reported missing in july of 2008. i spoke with tim earlier. tim, at what point during this whole nightmare did you start to think about maybe suing casey anthony? >> the minute jose baez opened his mouth and said that caylee

was never missing in his opening statements, and it was like how in the world could even jose ask us to stay there and search, and, of course, cindy and casey. and in the opening statements you allowed us to spend 112 plus thousand dollars and literally just used and lied to every one of us. >> and i assume with you it's not just the amount of money your organization spent searching, which is no small amount of money because you exist from donations, but it's also the time you invested in this when you could have been out searching for other people. >> well, anderson, that's exactly it. i mean we're nonprofit. we strictly live off donations and in fund-raisers we try to produce ourself and there were several phone calls we got from families that needed

us when we was in florida searching for caylee an we couldn't help them. you know, it was surprising. i mean, we've done 950 plus cases prior to that. so i learn how to read families pretty well. and in four days i was in that house with her, she never one time said the word caylee. casey never said her daughter's name. the closest she came to saying it was to, mr. miller, i know that she's alive out there. so please do everything you can do to bring her back. >> do you worry that a case like this and people's attitude toward it is going to make your job all the harder, that it's going to make people not want to volunteer to search for people who are missing and not donate to groups like yours? >> of course, it is and right now i mean we're basically getting zero donations because we're in the toughest economic time in basically my lifetime for sure. >> do you think you will sue? >> you know what, i spent all day with my attorney today.

and my attorney, of course, was on the phone with a law firm out of florida. it cost money, and it cost time, and that's one of the things we don't have -- we don't have enough of either. but i think i have to look at every one of our options. and i think i have to make some type of attempt. if i don't make an attempt and i sit back, i'm letting down our donors. i'm letting down our future phone calls for the families that are going to be calling us. and you know what, i can't take it just sitting down. you know, if it gets to the point where it looks like this is really going to be a struggle, it's going to be expensive and, you know, yeah, you're got to get a judgment but will you ever get your money, somebody better be prepared for it in florida. that's all i can say. >> well, tim, i appreciate what you do. and i know you'll proceed as you think you need to. but i know you'll continue to keep searching for others. so thanks for being with us. >> thanks, anderson. >> his own daughter went missing long ago, laura.

we're following several other stories tonight. joe johns joins us with the "360 bulletin." >> anderson, california kidnapping victim jaycee dugard says she revels in the simplest freedoms after being held against her will for 18 years. she talked with diane sawyer of abc news about her ordeal, including what it was like to give birth to the first of two daughters in captivity. they were fathered by the man who killed her, phillip garrido. >> they were painful, but then i saw her. she was beautiful. i felt like i wasn't alone anymore. i had somebody that was mine. i wasn't alone.

>> reporter: lawyers for dominique strauss-kahn say he will not be accepting a plea deal. a new york hotel maid has accused the former international monetary fund chief of attempted rape. prosecutors have revealed credibility issues with the maid but have not dropped the case. this sunday, britain's most read tabloid is printing its final edition. rupert murdoch's "news of the world" is shutting down amid claims it hacked into the voice mails of various people including celebrities, politicians, and terror victims. and san francisco police have arrested a suspect who was caught on surveillance video moments after they say he stole a pablo picasso sketch from an art galley. they say the new jersey man walked into the gallery, just took the sketch off the wall and walked out. and how much is it worth? anderson, the picasso piece is valued at around $200,000. >> wow.

that's amazing, just walked in and took it. coming up, did they get any closer to a deficit reduction plan? also, willie nelson's pot case takes an unexpected turn landing the judge on the ridiculous. another good thing about geico is, they've got, like, real live people working there 24/7. so like say you need to report a claim, alright. a real person will be there to help you. then you can use geico.com to view photos of the damage, track your claim, print an estimate. you want an english muffin? they literally hand you a toasted muffin with butter and jam. (sigh) whaa. tasty. that's, that's a complete dramatization of course, but you get my point. vo: geico 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.

in raw politics tonight, congressional leaders met earlier today with president obama, the white house, for talks on debt reduction and the debt ceiling. now, the 90-minute meeting didn't produce a deal, but the president called the talks constructive and scheduled another meeting for sunday. >> i want to emphasize that nothing is agreed to until everything's agreed to. and the parties are still far apart on a wide range of issues.

but, again, i thought that all the leaders here came in a spirit of compromise and a spirit of wanting to solve problems on behalf of the american people. >> well, president obama putting a positive spin on a showdown that, in fact, has been empty of compromise so far. with the august 2nd deadline to raise the debt ceiling looming there's been no letup in posturing on either sides. republicans vowing they will not budge on tax increases. >> we are not going to raise taxes on the person people. we're not going to raise taxes on the very people that we expect to reinvest in our economy and help grow jobs. everything's on the table except raising taxes on the american people. >> there's a difference between revenue razors and tax increases. there are ways of raising revenue without raising taxes.i increases. there are ways of raising revenue without raising taxezor increases. there are ways of raising revenue without raising taxeezo increases. there are ways of raising revenue without raising taxeors

increases. there are ways of raising revenue without raising taxers increases. there are ways of raising revenue without raising taxes. if it's a tax increase, that's something that republicans in the house and in the senate are not going to support. >> democrats just as adamant about refusing to touch entitlements. >> we do not support cuts in benefits for social security and medicare. do not consider social security a piggy bank for giving tax cuts to the wealthiest people in our country. >> don't touch medicare, medicaid and social security. >> so what's the reality behind all this rhetoric, and how close or far from the deal are they really? let's talk to chief white house correspondent jessica yellin along with seen lohr political analyst david gergen. jessica, what is the latest on where things stand tonight? >> reporter: well, first of all, the president, anderson, is going to meet with house my north leader nancy pelosi tomorrow to address some of the democratic concerns about where things stand. meantime, the staffs from the various congressional offices are working with white house staff over the next 48 plus hours to see if they can cobble together a deal ahead of this sunday meeting. during this meeting that happened today, the president did two big things.

one, he un equivocally ruled ou a short-term deal. he said no way is he going to sign any small debt ceiling increase. he has to have a deal that goes through 2012. secondly, he laid out the terms that he'd like a deal, the deal that they're discussing up until sunday would be the bigger deal. something that is $4 trillion over 10 years. and the thinking on that is, going for some bigger deal allows essentially john boehner, the speaker of the house, to try to put more into a deal, get more deficit reduction and add more sweeteners and more that could get conservative republicans onboard so he could bring more of his people in to vote for this. and you could also potentially get more democrats in to vote for it. more people along all around. terribly optimistic sounding scenario, but it's the optimistic solution they're looking at for the next few days. >> well, david, if both sides now -- i mean if the democrats are saying, well, look, you can't even think about looking at social security and

republicans are saying, you can't even think about or talk about tax increases, where is the compromise going to be? >> anderson, as much as i'd love to see a compromise, and it would be wonderful for the country if they reach a $4 trillion deal, i don't see how it's going to happen right now. it would require a major cave on the part of republicans on tax, as you say. they're very firm. united on that point. they're not going to cave. what they're looking for instead is for the democrats to cave, not once, but twice. first cave on accepting all these entitlement cuts. secondly, they would buy the republican position, no real revenue increases here. i can't see how the democrats would buy that. so i don't see how they get there. i think we are much more likely to get what the president promised he would not accept and that is a short-term deal. >> but, jest characters you're saying the white house is saying no way on a short-term deal? >> they're saying absolutely no way on the short-term deal.

there is a third way. by setting out this third option, this big $4 trillion deal, you can then fail on that and fall back on the $2 trillion deal they were discussing for two months. so they've set up this sort of i don't want to call it a strawman but an extra option they've thrown out at the last minute. so if this one doesn't work, now suddenly they go back to the original biden negotiations and try to push that one through and suddenly that looks like a compromise position and not the original negotiating stance. so they've created another way for themselves. >> it -- >> do you think both -- go ahead, david. sorry. >> i think that's possible. i still think it's more likely they'll come up with a mini deal as president clinton said. >> david boehner said he thinks the odds of him and the president reaching a deal are maybe 50/50. that's an actual quote. clearly you think that sounds optimistic. but for the president and for john boehner, do they both have

motivation to try to get a big deal? i get why obama would want a big deal. does boehner have that same motivation? because it seems like other folks in his party and other folks in the democratic party clearly have other motivations in wanting to say absolutely nothing, no tax raise and absolutely no touching big entitlements. >> john boehner is saying, look, it's 50/50. there's a 50% chance we think that the democrats will agree to what we're insisting upon. that seems to me not going to happen. but he is basically saying they'll accept our position on that. if he were to do that, john boehner would be a hero within his party. if he brings -- actually gets $3 trillion, the tea party will be celebrating from now till the end of the year. so it's just hard to see that happening. what i do think is fascinating here, anderson, is the degree to which the number of chips that president obama is moving onto the table in sharp disagreement with many members of the left of his party. you know, his politics for 2012

is becoming apparent. he wants to win the independent vote. he does that by getting a big deal. and he needs to cut entitlements, medicare and social security to get there. the democratic senators and house members especially on the left have been saying nancy pelosi said the other day, there are three big issues for 2012 as far as we're concerned, medicare, medicare, and medicare. and here the president is talking about we're going to cut medicare. pelosi wants to run on we're going to protect medicare, so they're going to have an interesting meeting tomorrow. >> i'd love to be a fly on the wall for that. yeah, jessica, quickly. >> i point out that job numbers come out tomorrow, anderson. they're not going to look good for the white house or congress. and so pushing for something big on all fronts helps everybody looks like they're trying. if it fails they can at least say -- the white house can at least say, hey, we tried. we're trying to do something for the economy. what did they do. >> all right. we'll look for that meeting tomorrow. jessica, thanks very much. david gergen, as well. still ahead, breaking news in the casey anthony case we're following. plus countdown to history.

the final space shuttle mission could be just hours away. we've had terrible weather all day today. we've we'll have the latest tomorrow's scheduled launch at kennedy space center still scheduled. also ahead, willie nelson busted for pot. but he's not the one on tonight's ridiculist. no, no, no, someone else tied to the case is. in companies embracg the cloud-- big clouds, small ones, public, private, even hybrid. your data and apps must move easily and securely to reach many clouds, not just one. that's why the network that connects, protects, and lets your data move fearlessly through the clouds means more than ever.

♪ ♪ i'm back in the saddle again ♪ ♪ out where a friend is a friend ♪ [ gulps ] ♪ where the longhorn cattle feed ♪ ♪ on the lowly gypsum weed ♪ back in the saddle again see how affordable an rv vacation can be. visit gorving.com and watch a free video. go affordably. go rving. ♪ i like your messy hair ♪ i like the clothes you wear ♪ i like the way you sing ♪ and when you dance with me ♪ you always make me smile

[ male announcer ] we believe you're at your best when you can relax and be yourself. and at thousands of newly refreshed holiday inn express hotels, you always can. holiday inn express. stay you. and now stay rewarded with vacation pay. stay two weekend nights and get a $75 prepaid card. and now stay rewarded with vacation pay. distracted driving. it accounts for 25% of car crashes. - ♪ [ dance ] - music, cell phones, food-- the list goes on. this is why safe driving is so important. - correct. - and it's why the best agents... help safe drivers get a lower rate. - oh! - exactly. ♪ another dream but always you ♪ whoa! ♪ it's like a vision-- [ tires squeal ] ♪ [ resumes ] [ man announcing ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪

looking at the room of the main hatch of the shuttle "atlantis," tomorrow morning four astronauts are scheduled to walk through that room, go through that hatch. then they will be the last one or ones to do it. shuttle mission sts-135 will be the final flight for shuttle "atlantis," the last mission of the program. 30 years ago, the first orbiter,

"columbia" lifted off. it was followed, of course, by "challenger," "discovery" and "atlantis" in 1985. enormous accomplishments putting a telescope in space, building a home in space. the nation, of course, mourned when "challenger" was lost in 1986 and "columbia" back in 2003. >> nine nautical miles. >> who can forget that moment? tomorrow, weather permitting, "atlantis" will loor into orbit bringing three decades of tears and triumph to a close. we'll be covering it live, of course. again the weather has been very bad here. good chance the mission may be delayed. but we'll be here covering it all. time now for the ridiculist. tonight, well, tonight we got to add the judge in willie nelson's latest marijuana case. here's what happened. last year, you may remember, willie nelson was on the road again and got arrested for pot possession again at a border stop in texas. there was apparently a very specific odor emanating from mr. nelson's tour bus.

how much do you want to bet that vending machine in the border patrol break room was subsequently relieved of all its cool ranch dore receipt doughs. anyway, willie worked out a plea deal paying a $500 fine and court costs. but the judge is not at all stoked. she just rejected the plea deal. now the case is back in limbo. the judge told the "new york times" she thinks the prosecutor is giving willie special treatment because he's a fan. and it is true, the prosecutor did once joke about lowering the charges if willie came and sang "blue eyes crying in the rain" in court. the judge apparently was not amused. but let's have a little perspective here, people. it was three ounces of pot on willie nelson's tour bus. i mean, am i the only one who has assumed that on a willie nelson tour bus the bus pulls a flatbed trailer behind it covered with an entire acre of marr juana tended by cheech, chong and snoop dogg? three ounces? willie nelson's own braids weigh more than that. i mean, i get it. the judge wants to make a point about not giving famous people special treatment. she says, and i quote "if you're not going to do it for the guy in the corner, why do it for a

celebrity?" when asked about it, the guy in the corner said "free willie." has anyone told nancy grace about this? she could get all fired up. start calling somebody pot mom. just a suggestion. i'd also like to find out what joe johns thinks about this latest development. i don't know if you remember but when larry king interviewed a while back we reedited the interview and joe didn't get it. take a look. >> did you smoke today? >> did i smoke cigarettes? >> did you smoke pot today? >> sure. >> before you came in here? >> yeah. ♪ never saw the sun shining so bright ♪ ♪ a memory of love's sweet refrain ♪ >> love you.

>> thank you. love you too. >> that's kind of extraordinary. i mean, a long pause there. >> well, we re-edited it. that didn't actually happen. we made that up. we edited all the long pauses. >> oh, i got it. >> yes. i love that you believed it, joe, too. >> i totally fell for it. >> that makes it even better. some people out there don't believe it. yes, we re-edited it. he wasn't that stoned that he was totally silent and then singing. >> oh, joe, it never gets old. >> i know. >> sorry, joe. >> it just keeps coming back again and again. you know, now i'm on the ridiculist. >> no, you're not on the ridiculist now. so, texas, come on. don't mess with willie nelson or the else you get a token spot on the ridiculist. so, joe, thanks for being a good sport about it. we'll be right back with breaking news on casey anthony. e pain relieving cream.

it blocks pain signals fast for relief precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol.

hiwhere we build eachre it all sof our customers. a better banking experience. here, we're working on something really special in our family department. hey, mike. hey, sam. (rings bell) bell works. love that bell! regions recognizes the unique needs of families. and we want toake sure you have exactly what you need - from the right checking account, to a mortgage, to loans for just abt anything.

thosare the ki. so if you're ready for a bank that can give your family the financial freedom you want, switch to regions.